Digimon : The Juggernaut Project
by crestofawesome165
Summary: We have all seen the epilogue, the 25 year span. Yet we know nothing of what happened between, of the great battle of dark and light, though this time it is more physical than digital...
1. One Year On

**A/N: **It's been a while, but I felt that I would do this, even if it is a passing fancy. I still have a project of my own to get on with, so I won't promise its completion.

We've all seen the epilogue, yet there was a certain… dissatisfaction to what was given. How had it ended in such a way, and what had the existence of Digimon provoked?

There is a beast in every human, and it must be fought with Courage, Light, Friendship, Love, Hope, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Miracles and the Darkness to battle it.

NOTE: The Prime Minister and government of Japan I have created in here are not real, and any government official in Japan by their name is purely coincidental. Also, the UN have not invested in ways to counter digital dragons before, so that's a fiction, too.

…

**THE JUGGERNAUT PROJECT**

…

'_Officials are still refusing to comment upon the strange events in Odaiba today, even in light of the vast destruction and, quite frankly, the flattening of a large area of the Tokyo Bay. Why they would suggest their own uncertainty and express secrecy in light of these events is unknown, but the Prime Minister has apparently been contacted by the United Nations, a first given the European organisations jurisdiction not applying to Japan. Likely it seems that these talks will be on the cause, whatever it was, and the foreign aid that will be invoked to repair Odaiba. This is Charlie Itarashi of JNN, signing off._'

…

'_Just over two years have passed by since what is known now as the 'Odaiba Incident' befell Japan, still with no explanation officially being offered even by the new governmental body or Prime Minister that were greatly reorganised. Mixed reports of 'monsters' and 'erratic fog' have been given to varying degrees and accuracy, giving no clearer picture on the incident that has since hit tax-payer wallets hard in an effort to rebuild Odaiba, though some of the scars are still standing. One man had this to say earlier when asked by JNB._'

'_It was crazy to watch – my house's right over there, unrepaired. Sure, the government helped me out with their tenement building projects in the main district, but they've not told me why my door was busted in by ghosts and my daughter has nightmares about some Dracula-wannabe. They called me nuts, threatened to send me to a home if I didn't stop talking about it_!'

'_The resident lived by the Rainbow Bridge, which also had to be rebuilt at great cost, again, without explanation. The Prime Minister has asserted that such a thing wouldn't occur again in anyone's lifetime, though this boast came mostly through channels of information leaked by UN correspondents. While a member of the UN, Japan is very much still an independent nation, and the Prime Minister has proposed reforms, citing the sudden intrigue between Japan and the other UN members. Current Prime Minister Suichiro Ichijo still fails to tell of much of his supposed 'reforms', but even so, Odaiba residents are still recovering from the latest incident of danger, many still concerned over a possible repeat of the notorious 'Highton View Terrace Attack' six years ago._'

…

'_My question is, why're we listening to whatever it is the UN has said when we nearly saw a nuclear disaster? Is three times not enough, Mr Ichijo_?'

'_I can assure you, JNN, JNB and all other networks who will be relaying this to the Japanese people that the incident you are referring to was a world-wide glitch, nothing more. The UN has assured me that no such action would ever be taken in strife. I gather that the mere word 'nuclear' gives old scars issue to ache, but we must be calm. The incident is two years past. There is no reason to dredge up an old affair that never led to anything other than a scare for my predecessor._'

'_There are also reports, if I may say so, that perhaps these countermeasures of yours, Prime Minister, are rather unfounded. No weapons developments, defensive or otherwise, and no great change in the reported military budget. The former Prime Minister and yourself have been very silent about the Odaiba Incident, and citizens are concerned should whatever happen occur again._'

'_Allow me to say this plainly and with truth, Mr Ichinose: all that is being done will act as our shield, should Odaiba repeat itself. Of that, you have my word both as Prime Minister and a member of the human race._'

…

_**DECEMBER 19, 2003**_

_**Odaiba Saint's High School, Classroom 2-B**_

Bored.

Tai was so incredibly bored, simply sitting impatiently in his empty classroom, a dull and cloudy evening dragging on, snow falling heavily by the windows, showing him how late it was getting.

He was now in the second year of high school, a sixteen year old of many months, and his life was slowly getting better.

His grades were better, now getting him above the average marks. This had garnered attention to him, possibly as he was no longer excluded in his class as the 'jock' and more the 'intellectual jock'. While his intelligence was, in truth, nothing impressive, it did little to dampen his already down-spiritedness.

What really got on his nerves was that his friends were slowly slipping away from him. Matt and Sora had been obvious from the start, despite the constant sting of truth it gave him, but Kari and TK were a little suspicious to him. He was scared that they were dating in secret – a wise move, as he would find a way to utterly destroy Matt's brother is he had been outright told.

His little sister had turned fourteen recently, just in the last week, but her age was scaring him – he was getting older, as was everyone else. They would all slip away from him, such was the way growing up was. But he had always hoped to avoid separating from them, especially after last December. The year-anniversary of their final victory together was coming up, but everyone had made plans.

This didn't mean they were avoiding him – they agreed to meet up in one place on the day, but the distance and coldness he had felt when they had told him was striking. It was as though they were passive friends, like ones they hung out with to avoid boredom entirely, not ones they had saved worlds, _dimensions_ even with.

Izzy now had a girlfriend of a month. It was stunning to even comprehend. Sure, Natsuko was a nice girl, more than anyone would believe, but now Izzy barely had time to talk with anyone other than the only girl who was also his age and a techno-nut. Half their babble sounded like a foreign language to him.

Joe had begun at his medical school earlier that year. He was determined to be a great doctor in his own right, not his father's, something Tai couldn't help but respect. He had managed to find time for the reunion, saying that he was bringing a close friend of his, Kaori. Tai had stopped listening at that. Even Joe had found a possible girlfriend, something he had thought impossible since he was still so hung up on Mimi. He supposed that the distance between had finally snapped Joe out of it.

Mimi herself was in New York, living the high life from what she had told Tai over mail and the phone. She talked to him far less than the others, but from the sporadic contact he had gathered that she was happy enough, and that Michael had asked her out.

The other kids, Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken had all agreed to make an appearance, but had all contested about their schedules without fully explaining. Tai hadn't been their leader in a year, so they had rifted in a way. He never heard from them anymore, not even Davis to check on Kari, likely due to TK.

So that was it. The Digidestined were no closer now than the time before they had been before they had met.

It was sad for Tai to consider, but watching the snow go by the window, simply sat at his desk during the time afterschool for clubs like a friendless optimist reminded him of how all things pass, whether it be snow or friends.

He couldn't even talk to Agumon, as the Digimon were in the Digital World organising some sort of government and police to prevent more Virus Digimon rising. Until their world was secure, he couldn't see them. The portals were still open, but they were guarded on their side now.

He had no idea when it might be done, when the portals would be left open to travel through. As Tentomon and Gennai had told him the day after MaloMyotismon the year before, it could be years before the security of both worlds was ensured.

'This blows,' he hissed to himself, arms falling down beside his seat. Irked now, he rose to his feet and grabbed his bag. Heading to the sliding-door, he opened it and moved down the corridor, headed to the stairwell and then the exit. Again, his day had been lonely and boring.

It had been ever since he had been split from the others who went to the school, being placed alone in a class while they, Sora, Matt and Izzy were together. Yolei always joined them since she was a first year, but since they were kind of distant, Tai tended to do his own thing and avoid them altogether.

He got to the shelves that held the outdoor-shoes and searched for his, finding them and switching his indoor-shoes for his outdoors.

As he tied the laces, he heard light footsteps behind him, along with hushed whispering. He turned to look.

Three girls from his class that he knew as Satchiko, Minori and Eri stood there, obscured slightly by the shelf. They must not have noticed him or thought they were invisible, as they whispered amongst themselves.

'Hello?' he called to them, seeing all three jumped nearly from the ground. 'Is there something wrong?'

Satchiko and Minori pushed forth Eri, a short brunette girl with an air of frailty toward him. He caught her, though she leapt away from him, her face flushed. About to hurl abuse at her friends, he saw deviously amused smiles.

'Are you alright?'

'I-I… um…'

Eri Kurosaki. That was her full-name, he thought.

He must have heard it a dozen times in daily register, but he was so short at paying attention. Even a butterfly would distract him enough. Sora had mocked him for it throughout their childhood friendship, especially when he was fighting back tears with a soccer ball imprint on his face. She had smiled at him as Satchiko and Minori had done.

'Um – Eri?' he asked, kneeling down to look at her red-face. 'You're a little red – you feeling okay?'

He reached out and pressed his palm to her head, feeling a wave of heat and the building of sweat under his hand. She was muttering lowly to herself and Tai realised that he had touched her without permission. He pulled back, feeling his face develop warmth.

'S-sorry, just checking that you're okay is all…'

'Eri, tell him!' Minori whispered.

'Yeah, what's he going to do but say 'no'?'

Tai froze. He realised what it was about now, something so obvious that when he looked at Eri she didn't have to say anything and just had to let her wide eyes tell him.

He couldn't believe it was happening. His mind went blank.

…

_**Takenouchi Residence, Sora's Room**_

_**December 19, 2003**_

'Seriously?' Sora couldn't believe it. Tai sat onto her bed almost robotically, his eyes blank. Snow was still embedded within his great mess of hair. 'She did? What did you tell her?'

'I panicked…'

'What does that mean?'

'I said 'yes' and she ran off crying with her face all red…'

Sora refused to squeal before Tai. He would never have let it go if she had. Even now that she was sixteen, it was still embarrassing to let him know that Mimi had gotten to her. Even Matt gave her a funny look when she did it, so what would Tai do if the 'tomboy' suddenly squealed?

But she felt like a balloon, only filled with joy instead of air.

Tai had been so lonely since they were all split up from him earlier at the start of the school-year. She didn't need to be a psychic to notice. Having a girlfriend would help him endure school, and might even help him overcome his wounds from last Christmas. He didn't know it, but Sora had noticed long ago what he thought of her – but she always thought of him as a friend. Matt was a different matter.

But that was of little consequence now – the worlds were at peace, one day they would be allowed into the Digital World again and now Tai became the latest Digidestined to find that special someone – Sora worried how he would react if she told him about how his sister had already done so.

Kari had come to her, not Tai, not as TK had gone to Matt with such elation. Tai's own sister was rather distant to him, but that was part of growing up.

Still, he deserved a nice girl to keep him company.

'What's she called?' she asked, excited for him and settling for the chair at her desk. 'Is she nice?'

'She's called Eri,' he explained gradually, apparently still shocked by the event himself. 'She's… she's really, really nice, but I'd never talked to her before. She just came up with her friends and – BAM – it happened!'

'She must have been too shy,' Sora voiced her thoughts, trying to lift Tai's spirits about the best thing to ever happen to him, even if he didn't know it yet. 'Those kinds of girls are the best. She's brave if she went up to a hard-head like you and said that…'

'Like you were brave when you went to the rockstar?' Tai asked, blinking innocently. Heat crept up Sora's neck in an instant. 'What? Hit a nerve?'

'I hate you sometimes – so much.'

'Hey, what're friends for?' Tai smiled his goofy smile as he had done in those desperate first days in the Digital World. 'Still, I've never done this sort of thing before… What am I meant to do?'

Sora frowned in deep thought, uncertain of what he should do.

'What do you and Matt do?'

His question had caught her off-guard and hit her with the force of a train. Why would he ask her that? What made him think that she would answer?

'We go to shops and stuff like that…' Sora sighed, feeling her insides well up with the heavy feeling of defeat. 'Like, ask her to study with you or… how about you bring her to our get-together?'

'Yeah, that might work!' Tai got to his feet and put a hand to his chest histrionically, '_Here's to us, we who defeated darkness and the ladyboy vampire-dog thing that embodied it and probably destroyed your house before_!' he dropped the act and gave her a satisfied look. 'That should go down well.'

'I guess,' Sora laughed, enjoying how close she still was with her oldest and in many ways best friend. 'Still, Izzy's bringing Natsuko and Ken's getting dragged into it by Yolei.'

'What are those two, anyway?'

'I think they're really close, but they still won't talk about it with each other.'

'Well, it'll be good to see everyone,' Tai looked up at the ceiling of Sora's room longingly, remembering the faces of all of his friends in turn. 'Davis isn't likely to come with us though, and don't give me any 'I don't know why' stuff. I'm protective, not blind.'

'TK's a good guy, Tai – he's not a kid anymore and neither is Kari,' Sora assured him. 'Anyway, it's getting on for seven – shouldn't you be going home now?'

'Oh, right…'

'Don't worry, I'll be at the meeting place with Matt, even if I have to drag him there.'

Tai got up and headed to the door, mumbling something as he left. Sora caught it, but the words still struck at her like a sword, even then.

'_That's not what I'm worried about_.'

…

_**Izumi Residence, Izzy's Room**_

_**December 19, 2003**_

'And these creatures can really exist here in our world?'

Natsuko looked lovely to Izzy, even through the medium of a computer screen created by a camera's relayed image. Natsuko Umineko, a sweet and pretty redhead like him, though she had glasses with a large circular rim, something others sniggered at her for. Not that she cared. She was as calm as the sea and as adorable to him as the cat for her namesake.

'That's right,' Izzy confirmed, bridging his fingers thoughtfully. 'You see, they come from the data in our world, in our computers. From there they materialised and assumed personalities and traits of their own. It's quite the prodigious achievement, in truth.'

'So they can come from the pixels in my screen?'

'Everything digital can be manifested,' Izzy explained, lifting a brow. 'Why do you ask?'

'Tell me the truth – is some digital-furry looking at me, even now?'

'I'm not a furry,' Izzy laughed heartily at the way she shuddered and smiled at once. 'Besides, anyone would be lucky to look at you.'

'You're such a charmer, Izzy Izumi,' she chuckled to herself in the computer window. 'So then, I'll be signing off now. I've got to be up bright and early. My mom and dad tell me that I need to go out an exercise like some anthropoid soccer player. I told them I hated running, but there you go.'

'I get it,' Izzy looked at the time in the corner of his laptop's screen, seeing that it was only 8:34. 'I'll be seeing you later, then. Tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow,' she smiled one last time before the computer screen closed the window, telling him that she had signed off.

Izzy sighed, hating the awkward silence after Natsuko logged off. For the past month since he had told his overwhelmed mother and proud father, they had been keeping their distance, though at times he could sense a motherly-presence pressed up against his door whenever talking to Natsuko. His mother wasn't the snooty type that usually eavesdropped, though Izzy was himself, and having a girlfriend would stun anyone, especially himself at first.

Deciding to join his mother and father in the evening television, Izzy clicked onto his internet browser and looked to his mailbox, wanting to check it before he did anything else.

What he saw there shocked him.

There were three emails, though one in particular grabbed his attention, as it was in bold, block-capital lettering with an old ally's name attached beside it.

'_BEWARE JUGGERNAUT – Gennai_' was all it said, yet it captivated Izzy enough to open it without thought.

Spreading before him on the computer screen like cards being flicked to players in Blackjack were windows, images and data all being transferred and downloaded at high speed. One last window opened, and he read it with some trepidation.

'_PROJECT JUGGERNAUT: CLEARANCE GRANTED_.'

'Juggernaut?' Izzy repeated to himself, over and over again, though nothing came to mind other than the word's denotation of something 'large'. 'What's Juggernaut mean, Gennai? Why did you send me this now?'

As if in response to his directionless query, a small sprite appeared on his screen, one of a small old man's visage that was walking to the centre of the screen with a conventional letter in its hand. Izzy had last seen it during Myotismon's siege of Odaiba three years ago.

'Greetings,' it said. 'Salutations again from cyber-space.'

'Gennai?' Izzy stared at the sprite, but he still couldn't believe it, after a year's silence. 'Why are you contacting me now?'

'Because the Digital Government and Peace Guardians are in place, and we are now ready to open the Digiports again,' the small image waved a message beside its small arm. 'However, I came across some information that may hinder our efforts.'

Izzy tried not to be sarcastic at a computer screen in the event his mother was at his door and thought he was being mean to Natsuko, whom she adored.

'Is it this 'Project Juggernaut', by any chance?'

'Indeed it is,' said Gennai plainly. 'It appeared that a hacking incident had occurred at what is otherwise quite the well-protected facility. I was interested, fearing a rogue Virus had used a Digiport when I found this 'Juggernaut' not ten minutes ago.'

'Can we skip past these images and data entries so that you can give me the general idea?' Izzy looked at the images with a glance, seeing that they were of a building. 'Is this place the 'Juggernaut'?'

'No, it is not.'

'Then what's the big problem that you finally sent me a message?'

'The fact of the matter is that the 'Juggernaut Project' is already a thing of the past, destroyed by some Digidestined children somewhere in Japan last year during the final battle. Juggernaut, according to these notes, was aimed at countering Digimon altogether should something like Odaiba happen again.'

'That's been in the news a lot recently,' Izzy noted, remembering an interview with the Deputy Prime Minister Kodaka Miyazaki. 'The Prime Minister hasn't been seen much since last Christmas when Digimon were in this world.'

'He wouldn't be since his grand experiment seemed to fail,' Gennai said heavily. 'Juggernaut was intended to eliminate all Digimon by poisoning their data with a powerful virus, but it failed due to some of the other Digidestined. The project was abandoned as a failure, and Digimon roamed about your world freely until you sent them back.'

'So the Japanese government intended to delete Digimon?' Izzy was baffled. 'Why would they do such a thing?'

'Izzy my friend, listen closely – Odaiba was a disaster, a costly one no doubt. It was a miracle that no casualties came to be in the battle at that time, but could such a miracle be relied upon again?' Gennai's sprite shook its large head. 'I expected some reaction if the barriers should fail again, and that is why I erased data of the incident, all recordings and such.'

'But it's all okay now, right?' Izzy looked eagerly at the sprite, his amusement at Natsuko's digital-company forgotten. 'That Juggernaut program failed, you said.'

'Indeed, but the data I have sent to you is imperative to what you must investigate,' said Gennai. 'No program so elaborate would be so simple. They must have had a contingency, only now that very contingency's data has been mostly deleted. The facility that had been accessed by hacking is in a state of lockdown now, but there's only so much I can do here.'

'Hold on,' Izzy grabbed his laptop and slid his chair down to the end of his desk where his stationary computer lay. Turning it on and linking it to the laptop with the cable, he watched the images transfer from the laptop to the computer, Gennai staying on the compact device himself. 'Alright, tell me what you know about this place then, Gennai. If it isn't too dangerous, I'll go and check it out.'

'Easy my friend, you must not go alone,' Gennai swung the conventional letter image in his hand, the image popping and appearing as a window of its own. 'You will need help. Where are the other Digidestined?'

'We're kind of separate at the moment,' Izzy admitted, looking at the message. ''224 Baika Street'? There's no such place in Odaiba. I'm confident in that conclusion.'

'You would be wise to trust that conclusion. There is no such place, as the facility is concealed in what I understand is called a 'shipyard'. It will look like a storage facility, a warehouse, perhaps.'

Izzy frowned, glancing at the image he had been given – it was a build made entirely of glass, with an architectural feature of a slanted roof, almost as though it had been cut.

'This looks nothing like that,' he noted, understanding. 'A false trail… that's ingenious. Especially since a hacker would get this image and believe that they had found an important facility's location. But how did you know, Gennai?'

'I am a digital being,' the sprite boasted, 'information is like a river, and I know how to follow it to its true place of birth.'

'So in other words, you can tell where the data's true place of transmission is located,' said Izzy, considering the situation. 'This building must hold something secret for all of this to be necessary. I doubt we could get in by ourselves…'

'That is where I _can_ help you,' Izzy looked at Gennai's visage with a raised brow. 'Merely access that message I have sent you and you will have the help you will need for this venture.'

'The message?' Izzy looked at the new window, seeing only the false address Gennai had obtained. 'What do I do?'

'Merely access the message itself.'

'Like this?'

Izzy clicked on the message as if to type a message onto it, but the indicator didn't appear. Instead, a bright flash blinded Izzy for a moment, a heavy weight crashing into him and sending him to the floor with a loud bang.

'Izzy, what's the matter?' Izzy's mother was through the door instantly, having undoubtedly been listening in with pride on him and Natsuko. 'Izzy – oh!'

'What is it mom?' he groaned, feeling as though he had brought his desk down on top of him.

'It's that friend of yours – from Christmas last year, wasn't it?'

'Honey?' he could hear his dad appear from behind the doorframe. 'Oh, it's good to see you again.'

'Thanks.'

Izzy stiffened. He knew that voice.

The weight jumped off of him with a strange buzzing noise, like that of a fly. A noise he hadn't heard in so long. He sat upright, slightly timorous and jittery as he caught sight of his first real friend, his best friend, his Digimon.

'Tentomon?'

…

_**Prime Minister's Office, Kantei, Tokyo**_

_**December 19, 2003**_

'And that is the truth of the matter?' Suichiro Ichijo rubbed his eyes, unable to digest what he was hearing from Harry Heiji, his head of division over scientific research and endeavours. He rarely saw him, and this time was like the others, complete with unpleasant news. 'The people are now at risk Harry. How did this happen?'

'Prime Minister, it was a catastrophe,' Ichijo sat down at his desk, listening to the director of the program. 'Juggernaut's sister program was much too unstable to be fully relied upon. HYPNOS's failure last year all but ushered in the failure of this one. Funding was poor since that time and management staff has fallen worryingly. It was only a matter of time until there was a containment issue.'

'I am well aware of Misuo Yamaki and his reports on Juggernaut's abandonment,' the Prime Minister snapped, feeling his temper wane. 'I told you last year that Juggernaut was a disaster, a failure. I told you to slowly abandon the sister project as well. Only so much of the defence budget can be allotted to poor, subpar or non-existent defence.'

'I understand that sir, but frankly put Juggernaut had promise you would have squandered in a moment of embarrassment at HYPNOS and Yamaki's failure,' the fool had the nerve to touch his desk as though he were effusive over his shortcoming. 'Two scientific masterpieces came from Juggernaut, easily enough to secure the world if not watch it. Imagine, imagine how the UN will react if we offer the solution to security against those monsters should they arise!'

'Monsters that have since vanished into thin air,' Ichijo snapped, irked at the scientist's pontificating. 'The issue at hand is how you have introduced the people of Tokyo and Japan as a whole to danger because you wanted to experiment on volatile subjects that should have been abandoned long ago.'

'Prime Minister, please-!'

'No, listen!' he had had enough of the fool's babble. 'I will now have to go into the public to explain a security risk to my people! What question will come first do you think? Perhaps one about returning monsters? How do you think the people will react when I decline them an honest answer due to foreign interest of all things? Fear will then spread _globally_ through _me_!'

'Sir, please, listen,' the idiot of a scientist had lost the verve in his eyes, lost that passionate fire. Ichijo was slightly relieved, knowing that he had begun to realise his error. 'Allow me to search for them. Such things can be easily mistaken and missed by eyes that aren't looking.'

Ichijo pointed at him, knowing that if he was to do such a thing, he must avoid panicking the people.

'That facility in Odaiba where it happened – evacuate it, send all staff on mandatory vacation, immediately,' he ordered, thinking carefully. 'The Cabinet must not hear of this, so the facility must be untouched by any of our people that may be missed. None will find it as only our staff know of the facility location, but I warn you now that it must be cleared when you have found your failures I told you to abandon.'

'And those foreign interests in the project?' Heiji wiped sweat from his brow. 'There are constant inspections, not at the facility itself for security, but they will wonder why no image of the subjects is given to them.'

'Tell them that you have a confounding new project that may interest them.'

'Do we have such a thing?'

'We will when you create such a thing. Consider it atonement for this stupendous blunder of yours. And Harry, do ensure that only the right people are looking for what we discussed.'

'I will do, sir,' the stupid man went for the door, bowing back at him one last time. 'Honestly, thank you.'

And he left.

Suichiro sniffed, feeling stuffy from his cold. He had done his best to ignore it in the meeting, his annoyance serving as the best way to hide it from Harry, though now he had a different problem. He reached for the intercom and pressed it.

'Ms Awaki, please could you get Minister of Defence Kouda here? It appears that I will need to discuss a matter with him.'

'_Certainly sir. What should I tell him it's about_?'

'Tell him that we need to discuss a worrisome triviality about the SDF. Nothing to bothersome, I'm afraid.'

'_I'll get him on the line, sir_.'

'Thank you Ms Awaki, sincerely.'

…

**A/N: **And there you have it, my first fanfiction in a while, just a little something to keep me preoccupied while I consider my own ideas.

Tell me, am I the only one to ever have considered Digimon in realistic terms and reactions like this?


	2. We Who Stand Divided

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter, complete with an investigation into the hidden face of the Juggernaut sister project.

…

**THE JUGGERNAUT PROJECT**

…

_**Kamiya Residence, Kari's Room**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

Kari was slow to rise from her bed that morning. She was exhausted from the previous evening walk and café trip with TK, Yolei and Ken. They had done it as a double-date, but Ken didn't seem to gather the underlying tone and concept of the experience. Instead, Kari had to watch with a sad laugh in her heart at Yolei's sad eyes while Ken had eaten a cake with almost overbearing politeness.

Davis had wanted to go, of course, but Kari talked him down from it at the end of school, telling him to move on. TK had mustered all of his courage the month before in telling her, so by what right did Davis try to interfere with that?

She didn't want him to misunderstand – he was funny, quirky and of definite leadership-material, but she didn't see him as anything more than a friend lost in his own zany overzealousness. Perhaps this was her polite way of calling him stubborn, perhaps irritating at times, but she was far too nice for her own good to say it, even in private thought.

The first thing she did was go across to her desk, yawning quietly and recalling a faint beeping noise in the night, knowing that her D3 had gotten mail. She would usually check it without hesitation in hope of the news that the Digital World was again open, but last night she had felt drained by the double-date and ignored it.

Snapping the screen open and activating it, there was one new mail from Izzy. All that the note atop the message said was '_URGENT – GET TAI_'.

She sent him a reply simply asking why she should and why he hadn't messaged Tai to begin with. She disliked being a mediator between her friends, especially after the debacle with Yolei and Ken only yesterday. Leaving it at that, she went to brush her teeth and have a shower, wondering passingly if Izzy would have sent her his reply when she had returned.

Twenty minutes later, hair slick and shiny with the water and shampoo and a towel pressed to her cheek, Kari returned to her room, finding her D3 with an indication that a message had been received.

She opened the message, finding an irritatingly short response, as though she were acting selfish for not just telling Tai to check his mail. Sure, he didn't have a D3 and neither did Izzy, but they could at least use their cell phones. Why couldn't he have just done that?

Sighing, she read it again.

'_No special reason. I just need Tai to come to my apartment and discuss something with me._'

'_Like what_?' Kari typed. '_I don't appreciate being told to give a message and not ask why. Why not call him yourself_?'

A minute or two passed by, Kari already dressed into jeans and a baggy T-shirt she enjoyed wearing on 'lazy days' or weekends when Izzy sent a response.

'_The phone isn't the best place to discuss this. Just trust me, Kari, please. Get your brother to come over, it's very important._'

Now Kari was feeling slightly worried by the tone of the messages, '_Izzy, if something bad is going on, then you can tell me._'

'_No, it's nothing like that_,' Izzy responded through mail, followed in quick succession by, '_I got told by Sora last night in a message that he had a girlfriend now. I wanted to congratulate him and catch up_.'

Kair frowned deeply, sceptical of why Izzy would be so secretive and enigmatic to not talk about such a thing over the phone. She was even more annoyed by Tai not telling her about it, though it was true that he didn't know about TK yet. As far as he knew, when she was on dates she was actually being a lot more proactive with friends who were definitely not of TK's gender by going to the movies or to meals.

Still annoyed, she typed in her response and headed out of her room and toward Tai's pit of a room where mountains of junk awaited.

'_I'll tell him you want to give soccer a try. He'll be there in a little bit._'

…

_**Izumi Residence, Izzy's Room**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'Did you really have to lie to her about why you need to see Tai?' Tentomon asked, standing atop Izzy's bed. 'Kari can be trusted, can't she?'

'Are you kidding?' Izzy scoffed, feeling a weight in his chest at having lied to Kari. 'I don't like it, but going over her head is the optimum way to keep her safe – I must have read through this Juggernaut data three times through the morning. I trust Tai the most, Tentomon.'

'I understand,' the Digimon buzzed, his odd stump of a hand going to his chin. 'I must say however that Kari was close to you, as were the rest last I heard. What happened in the past year?'

'Oh, just things and stuff…' Izzy deflected, 'Trust me, I'll tell them all at the opportune time, but this isn't exactly safe to look at. I'm also concerned as to whether or not anyone has noticed that I'm looking at these files.'

'Don't worry about that,' the insect waved his stumpy hand defensively, 'Gennai has guaranteed that there is protections on your computer that he uploaded with the files. As long as you use only that one to read them, nobody will ever know.'

'That's good,' Izzy breathed a little easier, licking his dry lips and realising that he would need breakfast and a drink soon. 'But I can't talk about it over the phone. I don't know if anyone might be listening.'

'So that's why you dismissed Kari's suggestion?' his old partner sounded proud. 'That's my Izzy – still as bright as ever!'

'Thanks pal, but we need to eat something,' Izzy got up from his desk and locked his computer, waving for Tentomon to follow. 'My dad's missed you almost as much as me since you're great at Go. My mom's also wanted to repay you for protecting us when Myotismon flattened the city.'

It was amazing how casually he could talk about the Odaiba Incident, as many people from Odaiba always talked about it with fear of a 'giant' and the funny 'world in the sky'. He knew better since he had survived, thanks entirely to his best friend, Tentomon.

'Come on, let's go and have something to eat,' Izzy said as the beetle Digimon flew across the room to the door with him. 'My mom and dad want to see you, anyway.'

…

_**Streets of Odaiba, On Approach to Izumi Residence**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

Izzy had better have a good reason for waking Tai up on that day. He had hoped to skip the day entirely as it was the weekend. Sure, some Saturdays he would have to go in, and Izzy did as well to catch up with his already-completed computer studies with Natsuko, but now he wanted to give soccer a try?

Tai didn't buy it. Izzy wasn't the type to play soccer unless it was compulsory and even then he stuck to the sidelines, avoiding the ball. He had to have had another reason for seeing Tai.

The air was chilled and his breath came from his mouth like a thick fog, as there had been on that day three years ago. Snow lined the streets with some beaten tracks from other early birds, seeing as it was only seven-thirty in the morning. The sun was barely shining over the tall tenement buildings erected in the last three years.

Whatever Izzy had said that was so urgent had annoyed Kari. She had shaken him and literally rolled him from his bed to the hard wooden floor of his bedroom, her face screwed up and a slight red at her puffed-out cheeks. She rarely made that face, and it was often made due to him hiding something from her.

Izzy must have told her something else and she must have told him a lie about him wanting to play soccer. That was his conclusion, though it saddened him a little, knowing that his once-innocent and sweet sister was now being wilful and secretive. Being a teenager on the cusp of adulthood must have dimmed that Light she was once so proud of. Either that or TK had made her more outgoing and secretive.

He was passing by a park when he spotted a group of what looked like elementary school kids. They were throwing snowballs at each other, laughing so happily and contently and bringing a twinge of envy into Tai's mind. Once, he and his now distant and divided friends would have laughed like that in the Digital World. The snow reminded him of Frigimon, a living snowman. He remembered the cold fondly, though at the time he would have felt more like he was going to freeze.

Nostalgia washed over him like warm water, only to be knocked from him along with his senses as pain staggered him – a stray snowball had hit him in the face.

'Not cool!' he shouted at the elementary school kids, watching them run away with mischievous giggles at their mistake as they fled. 'Stupid brats…'

'Tai?'

He looked with tears in his eyes through his fingers, seeing Sora wrapped snugly within the blue coat she had worn at Matt's concert the year before. She had a bag at her side and a worried look on her face.

'What happened?'

'Remember when I told you about Frigimon before?' Tai asked, getting a nod while he pinched his nose and lifted his head. 'Feels like I got punched by a snowman.'

Sora chuckled at his agony, as she always had when he had been struck by a stray soccer ball when they were kids. Of course, he had always done the same, and the laugh soon became reciprocal between them.

'Oh – man this hurts…'

'It was an elementary school student – a girl from what I saw,' Sora said hotly folding her arms with the bag dangling before her. 'Get over it, little Missy.'

'That kid's not a little girl, she's a fiend,' Tai cut across, still pinching his nose. 'The great snow demon of Yagami Elementary, that's all she is.'

'Are you actually envious of a little girl?'

'Who wouldn't be with her strength – it feels like she broke my nose.'

'No, she didn't. I can tell since you're still standing and not bleeding.'

'Alright Joe, calm down,' Tai cooed, his voice thick due to his nose being pinched. 'Is this how it felt when we saw LadyDevimon on top of Spiral Mountain?'

'What do you mean?' she gave him a funny look, something burning dangerously in her eyes. 'What about her?'

'Well, you and Kari were acting all funny when she appeared, then Angewomon did as well,' Tai recalled, picturing LadyDevimon's buxom form in his mind's eye. 'Then again,' his eyes strayed to Sora, though not her face, 'I guess I kind of get why.'

His was released and he grabbed hold of the back of his head, feeling it pound with pain after Sora used her monstrous strength to slap him upside his head.

'What do you say?' she demanded strongly.

'I'm sorry… I'm really, really sorry with ice-cream and cherries and all that good stuff on top.'

'That's better,' Sora snapped at him, though her mood immediately improved. 'So, why are you of all people up at this hour? Aren't you hibernating through winter again?'

'Same to you,' Tai said, suspicious. 'You getting groceries or something?'

'No, I was getting some baking goods – I'm making cookies again for Matt and everyone at the reunion on Christmas Eve. Do you know that Joe's been quiet on me all year?'

'Yeah, that's kind of his thing,' Tai mumbled, avoiding the subject of Matt altogether. 'I got messaged by Izzy this morning that he wanted to talk to me about something urgent. Kari came in and acted weird when she told me.'

A hand went to Sora's face, masking what he could tell was a smile behind her gloved fingers.

'What?'

'That… might have been my fault,' she explained, chuckling. 'See, I knew Izzy had Natsuko, so I thought you might want to ask him about this 'Eri' you told me about.'

'Yeah, about that,' Tai began sarcastically, 'I don't think knowing the whole lingo behind techno-speak will make this go any better. Besides, I don't know much about her, like I said, she'd just come up to me yesterday.'

'That a fact?' Sora said, nodding almost disinterestedly. 'Listen, why don't you go to school later and find out what club she's in? If she was there that late then she's got to belong to one – go and join it.'

'I'll do that,' Tai moaned. 'But first I've gotta go see Izzy. I'd rather have Joe of all people tell me about this 'Kaori' of his, but there you go. I'll see you later, alright?'

'See you.'

…

_**Izumi Residence**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

Tai rung the bell and waited for an answer, looking out over the balcony of Izzy's place, remembering his old apartment had been flattened by VenomMyotismon and he had been moved, but still, it was a nice place. Snow blanketed much of what he could see and it was still falling lightly around him.

He could tell that the forthcoming Christmas would be filled with snow, unlike the year before where he had travelled to France and found little other than cold air.

The door opened behind him and Tai looked back, though he didn't anticipate what he saw.

'Tentomon?' he gasped, stunned. 'H-how're… why're… is Agumon here, too?'

'No, he is not,' Tentomon buzzed. 'Come in, Tai. Izzy will explain everything.'

'Explain?' Tai followed the Digimon inside, still in disbelief that he was there. 'Explain what, like how you're here?'

'In part, but that is not all there is to it, I'm afraid.'

'Ah, Tai!' Mrs Izumi called, appearing from the living room. 'I haven't seen you in so long! How are you doing?'

'I'm okay,' he said. 'Um – so, you're alright with Tentomon being here? My mom would freak if she saw Agumon, even now.'

'Oh, I spoke to him last Christmas,' she said, smiling radiantly. 'I suppose I just got used to him. Don't worry, I never told anyone about him or any of you kids. I doubt that they would believe me if I did.'

'Thank you,' Tai gave a small bow of appreciation. 'Is Izzy in?'

'Yes, he's in his room,' Mrs Izumi pointed him to it, though he remembered it from the year before quite well. 'He seemed upset over something and barely talked at breakfast.'

'That may have been because of me talking about the Digital Government we set up,' Tentomon explained, waving his stumpy hands around. 'Izzy's dad seemed interested, so we talked for the past hour until you got here. It was such a nice chat, too.'

'Well sorry,' Tai quipped, unable to prevent a smile from breaking out across his face. 'Listen, how about you go talk to Izzy's dad again while I go see Izzy?'

'I would like that very much. My toast was tasty and I need to finish it.'

'Alright then,' Tai said, Mrs Izumi and Tentomon heading back into the living room while he moved toward Izzy's door, knocked and entered. 'Izzy, you here?'

'I was wondering what was taking you so long,' the redhead snapped rather harshly, rubbing his eyes. 'Sorry… I haven't slept all morning, and I just had to lie to Natsuko so that I could have today off from school.'

'It's the weekend – why would you go in anyway?' Tai joked.

Izzy returned in kind, 'You have to go for remedial lessons and soccer, I have a girlfriend and computer studies to do.'

'Do you want to rephrase that?' Tai indicated a small amount with his thumb and index finger, 'Even a little?'

'No,' Izzy declared, putting his laptop on and the computer beside it. 'Get your mind out of the gutter and onto this.'

Tai sneered playfully at his old friend – he never was one for a dark sense of humour, even when they had both turned sixteen. Natsuko fit in so well with him in Tai's mind because she was too uptight to actually swear or cuss or even make a euphemism, much like Izzy.

'So Izzy, I saw Tentomon,' Tai said with some urgency. 'Should I get my hopes up or is there something wrong?'

'No, the Digiports are still under guard, so Tentomon's here on special loan,' Izzy said seriously. 'I'm sorry, Tai. Agumon is still with the others in the Digital World.'

'Then why's Tentomon here?'

'Gennai sent him through my computer last night – we have something we need to check out,' Izzy stated, pointing to the many open windows on his computer and laptop screens. 'Listen to me for a minute and try to keep up.'

'I – alright, hit me.'

Izzy then began to explain all of it to Tai, about the Juggernaut project and its failure, about the government's plan to counter Digimon having gone wrong and the sister project, though he was sketchy on the details of what it entailed other than the ascertained location of the facility itself.

'So basically I need your help to look at this hidden facility,' Izzy pressed some keys on his computer's keypad, bringing up the image of a glass building. 'This is the fake, but the real one's in a shipyard.'

'Alright, but why're you asking me?' Izzy had never been one to openly ask for help, save for the incident with Diaboromon. 'Why not go with Tentomon? With your Digivice and all, nothing can get in your way.'

'What are you thinking?' Izzy suppressed his voice desperately, looking appalled at the idea. 'I can't go in and have Kabuterimon just wreck a government facility! Not to mention that people might be in there!'

'Alright, it was just a suggestion!' Tai threw his hands up. 'Don't bite my head off – so what's the plan and why am I here?'

'You…' Izzy licked his lips, looking uncertain of himself, 'I'll be honest with you – you're the Digidestined I trust implicitly, above all the others. Don't ask me why, you just are, even now when we aren't the Digidestined.'

'What do you mean?' Tai asked. 'We're always going to be the Digidestined. We saved the worlds – twice.'

'And that is something that we might never be thanked for, Tai,' Izzy sounded mature, far beyond a sixteen year old like Tai. 'Listen, I don't mean to sound cynical, but the world might never know what we did in the first place. Even then, does it need to know that the monsters that came into the world last Christmas aren't just a few but a world-full?'

'I guess not… but that doesn't mean that we're not the Digidestined anymore,' said Tai, firmly. He refused to admit that his friends were separate now as their duty to the Digital World was done. 'We always will be. That's why I'm gonna help one of my friends, whatever it is he wants to do, just like old times.'

Izzy didn't counter him, instead pointing to his computer screen and bringing up what looked like an online form, filled in with typed letters.

'What's that?'

'This is Project Juggernaut,' said Izzy. 'It describes how it failed due to other Digidestined kids in some unmentioned part of Japan during that crazy Christmas. But if this was serious enough to be tried by the government – poisoning Digimon with a virus – then what could be bad enough to hide as a sister project?'

'Maybe some anti-Digimon weapon,' Tai scratched his head, fingers wading through his thick hair. 'But what'd that be at best – maybe some something to make them crash or overload or something.'

'That was the aim of Juggernaut, but this project Gennai's given me some information on is pretty vague, but it seems like some anti-Digimon program of some sort. That's why we've got to look at this facility.'

'And I'm going because you trust me?' Tai was astonished and humbled at once. 'Wait – I'm not some sort of shield if you get caught, am I?'

'No.'

'And nobody else is coming?'

'Well, I trust you enough to take the risk with me, but who do you trust most?'

'Hang on,' Tai said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and looking through his number directory. 'I'll give them a call.'

'Wait, make sure that you don't talk about Juggernaut – people might be listening!'

'I get it so stop whimpering like a puppy!' Tai hissed, placing the cell phone to his ear. 'C'mon, pick up the phone…'

…

_**Ishida Residence**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'_And basically you're saying that Prime Minister Ichijo owes the public an explanation about the Odaiba and Christmas Incidents_?'

'_Let me ask you this – do you feel at all safe knowing that some creature flattened your street or maybe even your house, and yet your Prime Minister refuses to utter a word_?' some would-be expert was debating, sweaty and conceited. '_The monsters need to be squashed as a threat, and yet the powers that be refuse to even look a reporter in the eye when asked, even with the anniversary of the latest instalment of monsters upcoming. Who's to say that Highton View Terrace wasn't a starting point_?'

'Matt, are you still watching that garbage?' his father had not been overly impressed by his sudden interest in political debates, especially as Matt had arguably proven himself more aware than his father. 'Shouldn't you be getting ready for the little lady and your date?'

'You mean 'Sora',' Matt scolded, hating that particular petname for his girlfriend of almost a year. 'And yeah, she'll be here soon, but I want to catch as much of this as I can.'

'But an early morning debate – where did you go wrong?' his father sniffled to himself, only to follow with a laugh. 'Whatever it is, just make sure that Sora's happy or I'll cut your allowance for a month.'

Matt looked over the back of the couch to look at his father in disbelief, watching him eat his cereal with a serene expression on his face. He was serious.

'Sure dad, I'll do that,' he said as calmly as he could manage. 'How's everything going at the station?'

'Ah, it'll be fine. Told one of the guys once that the sphere fell because they angered me and word got around. Trust in your old man from time to time.'

'They actually bought _that_?'

'Apprentices,' his father said. 'What more is there to say? Anyway, I've got work today so I'll be heading off. Today you might be eating alone, so invite a friend over or something okay?'

'Alright,' Matt drawled, not okay with the idea at all. His father was a chief at the nearby broadcasting station of Odaiba, but aside from average pay at the best of times, it had stolen many hours and even days without him at Matt's side during dinner. 'Hey, how about a movie before Christmas – you know, just us for once?'

'I-,' Matt could see in his eyes that he was going to flatly deny it, but then he changed to, 'maybe – I'll see what I can do. Sorry I can't give you a firm answer, Wolf.'

Matt smiled at his dad's pseudonym for him, the nickname paying homage to his band, the 'Teenage Wolves'.

'That's okay, dad… be safe, alright?'

'I'm old, not senile or infirm. Calm down, Matt.'

'Someone's got to worry in mom's place,' Matt said with a cool smile, watching his dad smile back, grab his coat and leave the apartment. Matt lay across the couch like a bed. 'Great – another weekend alone… fantastic…'

He looked over to the time at the corner of the debate on TV, seeing that it was almost ten. Sora would arrive within minutes, which was a gift in its own right. He couldn't see why she would want to meet so late in the morning, however. Usually she would drag him out to watch her tennis practice, but not this time.

It was odd, but he cast that from his mind. Whatever Sora wanted to do, he supported it fully. That was their rapport, the very basis of their relationship – trust.

Then he heard it, his phone ringing. The theme he had chosen was '_Hitomi No Tsubasa_' by Access. It sounded a little funny after listening to it many times, but he still enjoyed it as his ringtone. Standing up, he followed the noise into his room and grabbed his cell phone from the table.

The caller ID labelled the caller as '_Tai_'.

Matt sighed, uncaring to talk to Tai at that moment and wanting to get ready for his date with Sora.

Whatever it was that Tai wanted it could wait.

…

_**Joan's Diner and Eatery, Odaiba**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'S'up, squirt?' Jun asked, slurping on her drink as she did so in an unladylike manner. 'You've been down for a while. Girl trouble?' she flared her nostrils and smirked, 'Boy trouble?'

'Jun, shut up,' Davis hissed, trying his best to not chance a look at the other patrons around him, hoping they didn't care for what Jun had just suggested. 'Why're you even here with me? Don't you have to get ready for college next year or something?'

'Lighten up, would you?' Jun smiled deviously, 'It's Christmas, the time for peace on Earth and love.'

'For the last time, Matt's still with Sora and Jim's gone already. Unless you're making a move on me, give it up.'

'I have standards, unfortunately,' Jun stated matter-of-factly, tucking into her burger. 'That Kari girl's moved on, right? Do the same and get some addled, low-standard girl – there's gotta be ten of them in some soccer club somewhere.'

'Soccer's a way of life,' Davis corrected.

'It's a way on keeping your eye on the balls,' Jun corrected right back.

It took Davis a moment to grasp her snappishness, 'Wait… what?'

'Nothing, nothing at all,' she smiled. 'You'll be a great soccer player.'

'Sometimes I really, really hate you,' Davis mumbled, his face burning with embarrassment.

'And other times?' his sister giggled with a saintly smile.

'I really hate you.'

'Good,' she said, clapping her hands together, 'at least you won't be moping around the apartment anymore.'

'That's honestly what you're doing right now?' Davis sneered. 'C'mon, least buy me a burger if you're gonna do this.'

'I worked hard for this money, I'll have you know,' Jun smiled. 'Why should I spend it on a dweeb who hates me?'

'I – uh…' Davis hated her flawless argument – she had recently gotten a job at a local convenience store, practically depriving him of any argument that she was lazy, which did annoy him. 'Whatever…'

'Good boy,' she cooed. 'Anyway, I think you should just go out and find some new girl to bother. That 'Kari' seemed pretty uninterested anyway. She strung you along for a while, but that's done now, so get over it.'

'Jun, I'm not doing this-'

'Actually, dad's locked us out until I tell him that you're done being all depressed and start seeing your friends again.'

Davis was mortified.

'He'd do that?' he blurted, though his father was strict in that way. 'But… but you'd be locked out too!'

'Actually I have friends, unlike you at the minute,' Jun clipped, taking another sip from her drink. 'So, what'll it be?' she lifted her hand, two fingers extended victoriously, 'Either you talk to me now or you go find a friend to hang with for tonight. What'll it be, Davis?'

'Ken's probably got a bed going,' Davis said, rising from his seat. 'I'll go check.'

'Your choice. I'll check with Beth and Miyako later on then and have a sleepover.'

'As if that'll work – who'd want to see you out of school, anyway?'

'Same to you squirt,' Jun snapped, a fire in her glare. 'Impromptu sleepover? Can you manage that with people you've avoided for a month?'

Davis wasn't happy about it, but he settled back into his seat, recognising that he would be ridiculed and scolded for being distant to begin with, especially by his best friend. Besides which, Ken seemed preoccupied with surviving Yolei's endless advances, not that any of them got very far.

'Fine, fine…'

'Good, better start talking,' his sister said with what she apparently thought sweet words. 'What's the big issue?'

…

_**Joan's Diner and Eatery, Odaiba**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

Today was the third day. How he had survived was a mystery, but he doubted that such peace would last for long. His transfer into the local junior high school was perhaps a little haphazardly placed, but he was looking forward. He would be remembered as the boy who just casually came in at the end of the school's term, though to him it would be a great beginning. He could feel it.

At that moment he sat at a diner, sitting within a booth of his own beside the window, watching snow fall softly to the ground. This gentleness was stark to the racket behind him. He could sense some of the other patrons and even waitresses giving looks to the girl who sat behind him, talking down to her brother.

'Get over this 'Kari' girl and find someone else to suffer you,' she was saying snippily. 'She's a Kamiya anyway – have you seen her brother? You wanna be a soccer hard-head like that guy?'

'He's younger than you, and it's not nice to talk smack about someone younger behind their backs,' her brother snapped back in turn. He did his best to ignore their tiff and watched the snow fall. 'This is why no dude's going to touch you with a thirty foot pole if you were stranded at sea.'

'Oh, aren't you just cute?' the sister crooned, a vicious tone in her sugary voice. 'How's Kari doing with her boyfriend who's _not_ a total washout, I wonder?'

The snow was gradually slipping from his attention. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it. His brow twitched angrily without his leave.

'How's Matt doing with his girlfriend who's not a complete hag?'

'Did you just call me a hag, nitwit?'

'Sure did, troll.'

He could feel himself snap on the inside, and he rose, exited the booth and headed toward the exit, hearing some random chatter on his way out.

'Whoa – why's the window cracked?'

…

**A/N: **And therein ends the second chapter. Again, this is entirely a fiction and no secret projects to slay digital dinosaurs has been undertaken by the UN to public knowledge.


	3. Seperate Paths, One Destination

**A/N: **Third chapter, and in here we put meat on the bones, so to speak.

…

_**Odaiba Shipyard, Odaiba**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'This is crazy,' Tai complained, leaning down low behind the wall. 'What's this facility got that it needs to be hidden here?'

'It's inconspicuous, not to mention that there's the strong smell of saltwater and fishermen's ships and catches here,' Izzy explained, easing his head from behind the wall to peek. 'My guess is that in case of a fire or some chemical spill, they can mask it under the smell of the sea and fish. The snow also helps because the air feels thicker and heavier.'

'Good idea,' Tai pinched his nose, disgusted by the affronting scent. 'So then, got any idea which warehouse it is?'

'I can fly over if you want me to,' Tentomon suggested, walking by Tai's knees. 'I'll be harder to spot in the air.'

'I think that would be a bad idea right now,' Izzy contradicted, nudging Tentomon back behind the wall. 'Think about it – it's early in the morning. Sure, there are no fishermen right now, but if someone comes over here, we're finished. Sorry pal, but you would actually be easier to spot in the air.'

'I suppose that would make sense…' the dejected Digimon settled down beside them. 'Well, we can't stand behind this wall all day. What do you suggest?'

'I say we make a break for it,' Tai suggested rashly, tired of standing behind a wall. 'We've been here for about ten minutes and seen nobody. C'mon, worst case is that we have to make a break for it faster – let Tentomon fly over quick and then we follow.'

'That does seem the only option,' the red beetle creature nodded. 'Izzy, are you alright with Tai's plan?'

'That seems the best solution to the current problem,' Izzy said, moving from behind cover and walking down the concrete walkway, Tai following hastily after while the sound of Tentomon's wings sounded above. 'Alright, it seems clear – let's run for it.'

And Tai did as Izzy directed, running as fast as he could, cautious of the noise his running made in the light layer of snow. It had been snowing moments before, but had now let up, allowing Tai to unblinkingly head to the warehouse Izzy had indicated, third in a row of five, all running along the concrete coastline of the shipyard docks.

Izzy took another few seconds to catch Tai and Tentomon before the warehouse, panting loudly from the effort. Tai inwardly cursed that Izzy really hadn't wanted to give soccer a try – he was inactive physically much of the time, and it showed in his poor running speed.

'Alright, where'd the door be?' Tai asked himself, looking down both extremes of the warehouse's front, though only a large pair of doors stood before them, too big and likely loud to dare open without arousing suspicion. 'Izzy, you think we should chance it?'

'These can't be opened by us,' Izzy coughed. 'They must be operated by a remote of some sort… Kabuterimon would be able, but I doubt he could stay a secret for long…'

'So what do you think?' Tai said, impatient and fearful of being spotted.

'If this is what Gennai told me it was in his address for this place, then it's a government building – that means high-tech,' Izzy mused, hand stroking the surface of the doors. 'Think about Andromon's factory-'

'I'd rather not think about that right now.'

'No, hear me out,' the redhead stressed, hand stroking the door still. 'That place was high-tech as well. There were consoles and access panels, so there's bound to be a special way into this one, like a terminal for a given password.'

'Now you've lost me,' Tai grumbled. 'What's that all mean in normal terms?'

'It means that there's probably a false portion of this door,' Izzy said, looking at Tai determinedly. 'Come on, help me. If we find it, then we can get in.'

'Alright,' Tai said, stroking the door and feeling carefully for something odd on its surface. 'You know, for a special place for those government bozos, there aren't a lot of guards – none, actually.'

'Why do you think I want to get inside quick – Tentomon, I never asked, but can you feel electricity, like in this door for instance?'

'Well, I've never tried it, but…' Tentomon approached the door and placed a stumped hand onto it. 'I don't see why not.'

A moment or two past, Tai's insides knotting themselves tighter and tighter with every second that Tentomon said nothing.

'That's odd,' the red Digimon muttered. 'It feels like there's a weak feeling of electricity in there…'

'What, does it have a source or an outflow?' Izzy pressed in words Tai didn't comprehend.

'Scratch that, can you get us in?' he pressed, looking down the coastline anxiously.

'That's the thing, it feels damaged, as though somebody went and shocked it in some way.'

Tai blinked, 'What, like a Digimon?'

'Not likely, Tai. The Digital Government is watching all known Digiports with great vigilance.'

'But not impossible,' Tai said snappishly. 'That's not the point – can it open or what?'

'Izzy, I should Digivolve,' Tentomon turned to his partner. 'I wouldn't need longer than a few seconds to pry these doors open.'

'I suppose…' Izzy looked up and down the shipyard frantically, pulling his Digivice from his pocket and whispering. 'Alright, but we have to be quick about this.'

There was a sharp flash of light, blinding Tai for a moment before he could see again, see the leg of the giant but familiar Kabuterimon, looking as though he were crouched and his large hands digging into the doors, struggling to pull them apart.

'C'mon, you can do it!' Tai cheered quietly, looking up and down the shipyard with a tight, nervous tugging at his insides. 'C'mon, you can do it, Kabuterimon!'

And he did. The doors began to creak and then part, slowly, little by little. It was rather loud, but Kabuterimon was opening the warehouse door, a thick darkness inside.

'Alright, we can squeeze inside,' Izzy urged. 'Go back to being Tentomon for now.'

'Right,' the giant bug grunted, a yellowish glow embracing him as he shrunk before them back into Tentomon. 'That was tiring – I haven't managed to Digivolve in a year, but even so that was tiring.'

'Complain later,' Tai hissed, squeezing into the gap between the doors with ease and entering the darkness with a tremulous feeling within him. 'Alright, seems clear to me.'

Izzy and Tentomon followed him through the gap inside, leaving the opening as it was in the event that they needed to make a hasty retreat.

'So far so good…' Tai mumbled, looking to where he could hear Izzy's feet moving. 'It's too dark…'

'Hold on,' Izzy whispered, his pace slowing and Tai following suit, 'there must be a light switch somewhere around here.'

'And in the meantime we're walking in the dark, Izzy.'

'Just shut up for a moment and-' there was a loud banging close by, something having been bumped into. 'Alright, I think I found it…'

Izzy flicked something from what Tai could hear, and a second later the lights flashed on above, disorientating him for a moment with their stark brightness cutting through the dark around them in an instant.

What he saw around him was stunning.

'Izzy… what's this?'

…

_**Continental Flight IL-345, Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'How much longer do you think it'll be until we're there?' Mimi asked, knowing that it was for at least the tenth time. 'Michael? Willis?'

'I'm not sure, Mimi,' Michael said politely, his accent as thick as ever. 'It can't be much longer, can it, Willis?'

'I hope it's not,' Willis sighed. 'Terriermon's probably bored out of his mind in the cargo hold – playing cards with Betamon can't last this long, especially with turbulence making everything shake.'

'I suppose not,' Michael laughed, smiling broadly.

Mimi couldn't help but smile too. She was sat in first-class on an airliner, a first by her, though Michael's father owning a private plane had made him accustomed to it. His father had paid for all three of them to spend their sixteenth Christmas with their friends in Japan. It had taken some convincing, but her mother finally agreed to part with Mimi for at least a week or two until after New Year's Day.

'So then, what do you think they've been up to?' Willis leaned back into his reclining seat, looking pleased by it. 'I haven't seen Davis or his group for over a year, even before the final fight.'

'I know,' Mimi said, sighing thoughtfully of her friends. From what little she could understand, they were rather separate, something that only made her sad. 'Still, imagine the looks on their faces when they find out that Benjamin brought Terriermon and Betamon back.'

'That's true,' Willis mumbled, his eyes closed and a tired sigh escaping him. 'Still, he could've told me why Terriermon needed to be in Japan. My Japanese is a little rusty.'

'As is mine,' Michael input, looking up at the plane's ceiling. 'Still, Betamon needing to be in Japan is strange. He said he couldn't talk about this 'Digital Government' of theirs either.'

'Still, you two are so lucky,' Mimi muttered sadly, Palmon's visage before her eyes. 'I miss Palmon so much that it hurts sometimes…'

Neither boy said anything to this.

Mimi saw that she had made the air thick with tension and an awkward sentiment, and looked at her Digivice's timer to hide her reddening face. It said that it was 11:02 in Japanese time-zone mode. She could see the sun outside and figured that the correlation of the time and the light outside the plane's window meant that they were close, though she couldn't spot land as of yet.

She couldn't wait to surprise her friends in her first visit since Armageddemon's rampage a year before. Nothing would go wrong; she simply wouldn't allow it to happen, she decided.

This year she wanted a pleasant Christmas with her old friends and allies.

…

_**Odaiba Overland Train Station Platform**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'So then, do you think that you got all the gifts that you need to get?' TK inquired, trying to break the silence between them as they awaited the train to the neighbouring district of Tokyo on a desolate platform. 'I mean, you know, if you wanna go shopping again I'm good with going with you.'

'That's nice of you, TK,' Kari smiled the smile that TK adored so very deeply. 'But we had better go and see how Yolei's doing with Ken. Those two seem to have trouble understanding each other.'

TK was taken by impulse, his hand moving against his volition and taking Kari's own.

'They aren't the only ones, are they?'

'I guess not,' Kari said, her cheeks reddening slightly. 'But we got there in the end. I have faith in both of them.'

'I do too. Ken's still at the top of his classes from what I hear – not at the level he was before, but he's at least second or third in terms of midterms. At least, that's what Davis told me once.'

Curiously, he felt a slight twitch of Kari's small hand within his own.

'Is that right?' she asked, her voice sounding slightly hollow, though TK already knew why. 'Well, I wouldn't know… he doesn't come near me anymore.'

'It's just his way of coping,' TK assured her, gently squeezing her hand. 'Come on, you know Davis better than that. If MaloMyotismon couldn't get to him, I doubt that we will.'

'I hope so,' she mumbled sadly. 'I knew about it, you know, but I never got around to telling him. He was a friend.'

'He _is_ a friend,' TK told her, the tannoy announcing their train on the approach. 'And we have to have faith in our friends.'

'How do you know that he can still be our friend?'

'I have 'Hope',' TK announced, smiling as broadly as he could at her. 'Besides, hard-headed as he is, Davis would never do anything to upset you. If you don't believe me, believe in that much, Kari.'

'Okay, I'll try.'

…

_**Odaiba Back Alleyways**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

He could see them patrolling around the street from the alley he was hidden in. They had been doing so for ten minutes, the crowd of shoppers suddenly dispersing just before having probably been evacuated due to a 'bomb scare' or a 'monster sighting'. They would never tell them that they were after him alone.

They had searched for him for days, the men in their strange costumes. They were walking around in what looked like a single piece of black overalls with a mask attached with minor breathing apparatus, as though he could poison them with the air he was breathing. In their hands, they held guns, looking oddly like FN P90s, meaning it was not typical weaponry. They were compact and deadly.

On the back of their clothes were a bold set of letters: SDF.

The Special Defence Forces, in other words. He had been warned against them by his one friend, but they were still vigilant for him, and in truth he was not sure how much longer he could hide from them in the alley. Their steps were approaching loudly in drilled march.

He needed to escape, but the alley he had hidden in thoughtlessly had no exit, it merely ran into a dead end.

'Who are these guys?' he muttered to himself with aggression, despising their persistence in following him and more than likely the other. 'Come on, there's got to be one way out without going out into that…'

Then it hit him. He knew what to do, though how he knew was unknown to him. In the previous few days, he had found that he knew a lot about things he had not though much about before.

'Alright…' he muttered, lifting a hand to the sky and concentrating on what he wanted to happen. He sincerely hoped that his mind hadn't taken its leave of him, and he hoped even more that desperate madness had taken him blind. 'Wait…'

He could see it working.

…

_**Odaiba Shipyard, Warehouse Facility**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

His Digivice was blaring and flashing wildly, a feature that had never proven beneficial to Izzy in any way in the past. In fact, it more often than not signalled a bad tiding or a warning. But about what it was, he had no idea, and frankly, he had bigger concerns.

Stuffing it into his pocket and doing his best to ignore the muffled beeping, Izzy went about the console again, trying to find a way to switch it on. It had been lying at the very back of the empty warehouse space, the very thing he had bumped into, finding the light switch situated beside it. Other than that, the warehouse was the picture of bland and empty.

'What's so secret about this place?' Tai groaned behind him while he tried to activate the console. 'I mean come on, it's pretty much a dump!'

'Tai, I would like to tell you that this place is spotless,' Tentomon perked up behind Izzy as well. The pair of them began to bicker. 'This is getting us nowhere, Tai. Perhaps we should allow Izzy some peace and quiet, hmm?'

'You haven't even got a mouth and you never shut up!' Tai snapped irritably, and Izzy could sense that he had turned to Izzy. 'Any luck?'

'Not even close,' Izzy sighed. 'This machine is prodigious. My best guess is that it requires a pass or a cardkey to even induce power to begin with. Without that-'

'So no,' Tai surmised.

'Yes, the answer is still as much 'no' as five minutes ago.'

'That's great,' Tai said, pacing behind Izzy. 'If only Tentomon could feel the power in the computer and then shocked it – that'd save us a lot of time and a lot of hassle.'

'Wait, Tentomon!' Izzy whirled around, both of his fellows looking surprised in their own way. 'I've been stupid, but it makes sense now!'

'Uh – what does, Izzy?'

'When you leave, you wouldn't just leave something as important as this alone, no matter what you do!' Izzy's mind was fast at work, considering the possibility. 'They must have switched off the power source to hinder any intruder!'

'So, what?' Tai stepped forward, confused. 'We just switch it back on?'

'No, the power source will be somewhere else, otherwise the lights and the computer would both be working right now. Think about it, Tai, if you had your computer left for the world to see, what logically comes to mind?'

'Well, I guess I'd take out all the plugs and stuff…'

'Precisely, and that is what they have done,' said Izzy, confident now in his hypothesis. 'If I'm right, then we could still pull off this mission Gennai has given us. All we need to do is find those disconnected 'plugs and stuff' and have Tentomon give them some electrical assistance.'

'Oh, I get it!' Tai smiled, 'So we get him to shock these cables, right?'

'I believe I can manage that,' Tentomon added. 'However, now we have to find these cables you believe have been disconnected.'

'Right,' said Izzy, 'hopefully, they're close by and within easy reach. That is why I want you to assess the console and see where whatever power it has leads to and cuts off. Can you do that Tentomon?'

'It's worth a try,' the red beetle Digimon buzzed, flying over to the console and grabbing it with both stumpy hands. 'I need a moment or two.'

'That's fine,' Tai perked up. 'There's no guards or anything, and no fisherman's gonna go out in the snow. Plus, it's only… um…' he rifled through his pocket and consulted his own Digivice, which was not beeping or flashing at all. 'It's only 11:30, so we're good.'

…

_**Ichijouji Residence, Ken's Room**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'Yolei, really, you don't need to dress me,' Ken insisted, being pulled aside in front of his mirror by Yolei. 'Seriously, it's only a trip into the city, right?'

'That's right,' the lavender haired girl had a finger on her chin, considering how he looked in a blazer and jeans. 'I'm not sure… Mimi didn't teach me all the things to look for when dressing boys…'

'Yolei, please stop,' Ken sighed his plea, knowing she wasn't listening. 'Is this because of last night? I said I was sorry for whatever made you cry, didn't I?'

'Did I cry?' Yolei put on an innocent face, but the waver in her voice told Ken he was right, 'I don't remember doing that. Maybe you were daydreaming again, Ken. You do that a lot…'

'Excuse me?'

'No, this is no good!' Yolei yanked him by the arm and threw him onto his bed, aside from his closet and the literal pile of rejected clothes she had made in her hour of being at his family's apartment. She wandered over to it and looked at what little remained. 'No, too plain and too uninteresting… Ken, do you care if you wear odd-socks and clothes?'

Ken scratched his head distractedly, 'Come again?'

'I remember Mimi saying that in vital moments, clashing colours can give a person character,' Yolei said sagely, though it made little sense to Ken, still drowsy from when he had been woken early by her, who had claimed it an 'innocent visit'. She had made a lot of them as of late, he recalled. 'Ken, are you listening?'

'Yes, yes,' he lied, reaching to his desk for his cell phone while Yolei plundered and purloined combinations of clothes for him to try.

Absently, he looked through the numbers, arriving to one he had not called in the longest time, mostly by Yolei's request. But now, with a full month nearly having passed by, he grew worried. He had not even seen his best friend in that time. He had considered it, and decided that today he would be proactive and force the issue.

Initiating the call while Yolei hummed some J-pop tune that was popular at the moment, Ken listened anxiously to the dial tone, and almost felt his heart stop when he heard his friend pick up the phone.

'Hello?' Davis asked.

'Hi,' Ken said pleasantly, his eyes on Yolei, who was still blissfully invading his closet. 'You free today? Me and Yolei are getting the group together for today. I asked Cody yesterday.'

Yolei turned, her eyes wide behind her glasses. He had expected as much, but frankly put, he was a little weary of her company and TK with Kari's company alone. He wanted his friends back. He had called Cody before and told him where to be. All that was left now was Davis.

'Ken…' Yolei whispered pleadingly, shaking her hair slowly. 'Please… don't do this…'

'He's my friend,' Ken stated with some strength. He was not one for force, still scared of how he had been as Digimon Emperor, but he decided that he could no longer watch quietly while his friends parted. He owed them so much, every single one of them.

'Ken?' Davis's voice said through the receiver – in the quiet, he was sure that Yolei could hear his voice, her face white as chalk. 'Ken, c'mon, what's this all about? You know what it's like right now, don't you?'

'Yes,' Ken said. 'But my friends are my friends. What you want to think about each other is none of my business. But Davis, please, do this for me.'

There was quiet for a moment.

'Alright,' Davis sounded uncertain, even through the cell phone's receiver. 'Where to, then?'

'The main shopping district in the city – we're meeting at Joan's Diner, do you know it?'

'Um – y-yeah, I was there yesterday, but… well, you sure about this, Ken?'

'Davis, do you trust me?'

After a few seconds of silence, Davis said, 'Alright, I'll… I'll give it a try. No promises, alright?'

'No promises, no regrets,' Ken smiled, though Yolei looked mortified and dumbstruck before him, dropping the clothes in her hands. 'You used to say that when you came here, remember?'

'Yeah, when we were playing video games and betting,' Davis laughed. 'Alright, I'll go find some train fare, alright?'

'Alright, see you soon.'

There was a beep, and Ken ended the call, throwing the phone beside him on the bed and staring at Yolei's worried expression.

'Yolei-'

'Wear what you want,' she said rather sharply. 'Do you know what this'll do to Kari?'

'I have a good guess,' Ken got to his feet, knowing it would affect Kari badly. 'But they need to talk sometime, Yolei. Isn't he your friend as well?'

'Of course he is, but Kari's my best friend,' she replied, some colour returning to her face. 'And she'll be here soon. I've got to warn her.'

'Go ahead, if that's what you feel is right.'

…

_**Odaiba Streets**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'Again?' Sora looked startled. 'How many dates can they manage before they get bored? I mean, they are forcing it a little.'

'That's what I said,' Matt responded calmly. 'I trust TK enough to know he's a big kid now. Let him make mistakes and learn from them – remember how I was before the whole thing with Cherrymon?'

Sora nodded, remembering how Matt had told her about an unctuous and untrustworthy Digimon that had fooled Matt into fighting with Tai, their Digimon doing their duty to protect their partners and also fighting each other. From what she had heard, Cherrymon had been a tree, which was an odd thing to consider, thinking that something so seemingly calm and stalwart could be devious like Cherrymon was.

'So anyway, TK aside, why did you want to come out so early?' Matt asked, Sora's heart almost beating at her ribs like a drum at the question. 'I mean, the snow's nice and all, don't get me wrong, but it's been about an hour of us walking now. Don't you want to go to the shopping district?'

Sora licked her lips nervously, feeling herself go red as time passed by. Matt must have thought himself gentlemanly with concern as he took her hand into his and asked her what was wrong, but she knew that she was being put on the spot for what she had planned.

'I-I-I… well, that is… um…' she began stuttering like a fool – as Tai had once told her at age eight, she was an awful liar, but the truth was just embarrassing. 'I-I… I wanted to see the snow is all…'

'Sora, are you feeling alright?' he put a hand to her forehead. 'That's not good – I think the cold's getting to you…'

Biting back her fear of ridicule, she dispensed with her horrible attempt to lie and delay what she wanted to tell him and give him. Shakily, she reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled them out, dangling them before her by her fingers.

'I wanted to give you this!' Sora almost shouted in her embarrassment, thankful that no shoppers were on the street at that moment. 'I-I… do you like it?'

She felt one of the thin chains being pulled gently from her shaky fingered-grasp. Steeling herself, she waited on his approval or disapproval, feeling regret for getting them.

'S-Sora…' Matt sounded thunderstruck. 'I – are you sure?'

'Y-yeah,' she mumbled. 'It's Christmas soon and my mom wants me at home for when dad's back, and on Christmas Eve it would be embarrassing so… now was the best time… do you not like it?'

Her heart felt as though it had turned to stone as she waited, feeling it sink slowly within her. Perhaps her gift was not a good idea. She focussed on the pavement and the trodden snow beneath her.

'I love it,' he said, the words sweet as honey to her. 'An early Christmas present's nice, but I wasn't going to give you yours until the day… do you want them now?'

'No,' she smiled stupidly, her face only getting hotter and her mind clouded by happiness. 'This is… this is _special_.'

Losing her ability to speak with what felt like a drowsy flush, Sora fumbled to undo the thin chain's connection, her hands unsteady. Matt held her hands gently, his necklace now hung proudly around his neck and over his jacket. The sight calmed her, and she allowed him to take hers without complaint, his hands precise in brushing her hair aside and hooking the chain together, her necklace now over her coat.

Matt smiled at her with the smile she had felt so utterly cherished ever since their first travels in the Digital World, all those years ago. Now, they were different – now they were happy together.

Matt again took her hand into his, and they began again to head down the street.

'So, wanna go shopping?' he asked with the necklace still on top of his jacket. 'This time, gifts are on me.'

'Y-yeah…' she mumbled, grabbing at and looking at the pendant of the necklace she was now wearing, a half without his to complete it.

It was small and made with an unimpressive metal, but the shape of a heart with a jagged break in the middle would connect with his to make a full heart. The inscription of hers read 'LO' while his would read 'VE'.

She had never managed to say it before, but through the necklace, she knew that Matt would know how important he was to her, and she hoped the feeling was more than merely mutual.

In fact, it was more than a hope. She knew it, as she had sensed it with Tai a year ago.

Love was, after all, her special quality.

…

_**Odaiba Shipyard, Warehouse Facility**_

_**December 20, 2003**_

'You're sure it's under here?' Tai asked, looking down at a small grate on the floor they had found within the corner beside the doors of the warehouse. Snow was creeping in gently through the small gap between the doors. 'Tentomon, are you pretty sure?'

'Yes, I am,' the Digimon declared proudly. 'If you open that grate, the cables should be under there. I felt them when I checked.'

'Good enough for me,' he declared, wanting badly to leave before he was caught by the authorities for essentially trespassing. 'Izzy, can you give me a hand?'

'Move over,' the redhead said, standing at one end of the grate while Tai went to the other. 'Alright,' they both reached for small delves that allowed them grab at the grate's underside. 'On three – one, two…'

'Three!' Tai yelled, he and Izzy beginning to groan with effort as they both lifted the heavy grate hardly a foot from the ground and dumped it beside them, revealing what it had been hiding.

'T-that's it…' Izzy panted, pointing at a mass of disconnected cables, removed from small outlets purposefully. 'T-Tentomon… give them a good shock, okay?'

'W-why not just connect them again?' Tai inquired, feeling his heartbeat quicken from the effort of lifting the grate.

'Are you kidding?' Izzy blurted, coughing drily. 'I mean, can you imagine how weird it would look if whatever had been powering this place was doing it again?'

'We'd get people coming to look,' Tai grunted. 'Sorry… I wasn't thinking clearly…'

'That's alright,' Izzy looked then at Tentomon, Tai taking the opportunity to catch his breath. 'Tentomon, could you do me a favour and give a small but constant charge to the cables?'

'Leave it to me,' the insect Digimon said, hobbling over with his small legs and opening his carapace-like back, his wings buzzing quickly, '_Super Shocker_!'

A small stream of electricity came from his wings, going into the hole and striking the cables. The flash stopped Tai from seeing them, but he supposed that they were working, running with Izzy over to the monitor of the terminal.

It was coming to life, he could see it as he and Izzy made it to the back of the warehouse, the screen running through recovery scripts of code that Tai didn't truly understand.

When it was done, Izzy went to work on the keyboard, clacking away at unbelievable speed.

'Can you find anything?' Tai asked.

'I will, don't you worry,' Izzy said. 'Besides, I bet Gennai can look at this on his side, too. I want to know what he was so interested in here.'

'Well you better hurry up,' Tai snapped. 'Tentomon can't last forever.'

…

**A/N: **And there is the third chapter of the tale, running smoothly into a fourth that begins to look at what has happened and what the existence of Digimon has created.


End file.
